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Every December, the Engadget staff compiles a list of the years biggest winners. We scour over articles from the previous 12 months to determine the people, companies, products and trends that made the most impact over the course of the year. Not all of that influence is positive, however, and some selections may also appear on our list of biggest losers. Still, sit back and enjoy our picks for the biggest winners of 2025.Nintendo Switch 2Playing Mario Kart World on the Switch 2 in handheld mode.Sam Rutherford for EngadgetAside from a big bump in battery life that many were hoping for, Nintendo took just about everything that made its last console such a phenomenon and upgraded it on the Switch 2. A sleeker design with magnetic Joy-Cons that are less likely to break, a larger (albeit LCD) 1080p display with HDR, much stronger performance, mouse controls and a boost to the base storage were all very welcome.Of course, the vast majority of Switch games run on the Switch 2 (often with visual improvements or other upgrades), so the new console had a vast library right from the jump. Nintendo is building out its slate of first-party games with treats like Donkey Kong Bananza and Metroid Prime 4, and the third-party support is seriously impressive too. Cyberpunk 2077, Street Fighter 6 and Hitman: World of Assassination are already available, and the likes of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and FromSoftware's Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods are on the way.The Switch 2 is an iteration, not a revolution, but Nintendo didn't need to reinvent the wheel to make another great system. It's little surprise, then, that we gave the Switch 2 a score of 93 in our review. The console is surpassing Nintendo's sales expectations as well. The company said in November that it believes it will sell 19 million units (up from 15 million) by the time its current fiscal year ends in March. Kris Holt, Contributing reporterNVIDIANVIDIA GeForce 5070 TiDevindra Hardawar for EngadgetCould things be any rosier for NVIDIA? Once just a video card company for gamers, NVIDIA's GPU hardware is now directly tied to the rise of the AI industry. Its stock has jumped a whopping 1,235 percent over the past five years, going from $13.56 per share in 2020 to a peak of $202.49 this past October. NVIDIA's server-grade cards are being used en masse to train AI models, as well as to power AI inferencing. At home, its GeForce GPUs are enabling local AI development and they're still the gaming cards to beat, despite AMD's steadily improving competition.Clearly, the company's bet on parallel processing has paid off enormously. Its GPUs can handle tons of computations simultaneously, making them ideally suited for the demands of the AI industry. They're not exactly efficient that's why neural processing units, or NPUs have sprung up to power consumer AI features but it's hard to deny NVIDIA's raw computational power. NVIDIA's AI success may not last forever, though. Companies like Google and Microsoft are already working on their own AI chips, and it's still unclear if consumers actually want widespread AI features as much as tech companies think. If the AI industry crashes, NVIDIA will be one of the first victims. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterTech billionairesUS President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk (L) in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 30, 2025. ALLISON ROBBERT via Getty ImagesThere's no doubt that tech billionaires, especially those that lean conservatively, have benefitted tremendously from the Trump administration over the past year. Elon Musk's DOGE team of tech loyalists chainsawed their way through the budgets and staff of several federal agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which regulates Tesla. (That hasn't stopped the NHTSA from launching a new investigation into Tesla's full self-driving tech, though.)According to a recent report by Oxfam, the 10 richest US billionaires (who are all tech leaders, save for Warren Buffet) increased their wealth by $698 billion of the past year. Of course, it took plenty of wining and dining to get there. Elon Musk reportedly donated nearly $300 million to Trump and Republican allies, and several tech companies have pitched in to build the president's lavish White House ballroom. But the result for the tech elite is increased access to the president, less scrutiny when it comes to acquisitions and other deals, and the potential for massive corporate and elite tax cuts. D.H.AI videoPOLAND - 2025/11/26: In this photo illustration, a silhouetted individual is seen holding a mobile phone with a Sora of ChatGPT OpenAI logo displayed in the background. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)SOPA Images via Getty ImagesAI slop didn't start in 2025, but it reached new heights thanks to updates from Meta, Google, OpenAI and others that made it easier than ever to create a real-ish (emphasis on the ish) looking clips from nothing but your most unhinged mad libs. Now, AI-generated videos are just about impossible to avoid. Some platforms, like Pinterest and TikTok, have even begun offering people the ability to ask their algorithms to show less AI content in their feeds. Unfortunately, there's no way to stuff Shrimp Jesus back into the bottle. AI video is everywhere and it's here to stay. It's not only overtaken Facebook and Instagram's recommendations, Meta created an entirely separate feed just for users' AI-generated fever dreams. OpenAI's Sora, which lets you make AI videos of real people, was downloaded a million times in just a few days. Google's Veo, which generated more than 40 million videos in a matter of weeks, is now built-in to YouTube Shorts.It's now trivially easy for creators to churn out fake movie trailers, cute animal videos that never happened or viral clips of made up ICE raids. Hell, the president of the United States regularly shares bizarre, sometimes poop-themed, AI videos on his official social media channels. During the government shutdown, the official X account for Senate Republicans shared a deepfake of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer. AI video is winning not just because it's everywhere, but because so many are unable, or unwilling, to understand what's real and what isn't. More than half of Americans say they are not confident in their ability to distinguish between human and AI-generated content, according to Pew Research. Similar numbers of people report being "more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life." But those concerns have done little to stop AI slop from dominating all of our feeds, and there's no sign it will ever slow down. Karissa Bell, Senior reporterGalaxy Z Fold 7Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7Sam Rutherford for EngadgetAfter seven generations, Samsung reached an important milestone this year with its Galaxy Z Fold line: It made a foldable phone thats the same size as a regular handset. In fact, weighing 7.58 ounces and measuring 72.8mm wide, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is actually lighter and narrower than an a target="_blank" class="link" href="https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-review-too-much-ai-not-enough-ultra-140022798.html" data-i13n="cpos:34;pos:1">S25 Ultra, while being practically just as thin at 8.9mm (folded). Its a real marvel of engineering, especially when you consider the phone also features a 200MP main camera, an IPX8 rating for water resistance and a 5,000 mAh battery with 45-watt wired charging. And of course, there's that huge 8-inch main screen hiding inside, which makes the Z Fold 7 both a phone and a tablet in one device. The only thing it's really missing is the improved dust resistance Google gave to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. But perhaps more importantly, the Z Fold 7's reduced size and weight have created a device with wider appeal. This has propelled sales of Samsung's latest flagship foldable up 50 percent compared to the previous generation while pushing shipments of foldables as a whole to record highs. Who knew that when Samsung focuses on creating world-class hardware instead of overindexing on AI, good things happen? Okay, maybe thats a bit harsh. Regardless, for a phone category that has struggled with excess weight and bulk since its inception, the Z Fold 7 feels like a revelation and the beginning of a new era for handsets with flexible displays. Now, can we just bring their prices down, please? Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterSmart glassesSenior reporter Karissa Bell wearing a pair of Ray Ban Display glasses. Karissa Bell for EngadgetLike it or not, smart glasses are having a moment. Propelled by new devices like the Meta Ray-Ban Display and upcoming models like Xreals Project Aura, the idea of wearing specs with built-in screens suddenly became an attractive proposition. And that means a lot for a category of gadgets thats often best remembered by the fashion tragedy that was Google Glass in 2013. However, this development isnt purely by chance. The latest generation of smart glasses has only just now become a reality due to the convergence of several branches of tech including improved optics, lightweight batteries and, of course, AI. Now that last one might sound silly considering how many big companies seem to be betting the farm on machine learning being the next big thing, but AI will be a critical feature for enabling the hands-free experience that you need to make smartglasses work when you cant rely on touch input. While this category is still in its early stages of development, the increased momentum we've seen from smart glasses this year seems poised to carry them towards being a future pillar of people's core tech kits. S.R.Fast chargingFast charging on the Pixel Watch 4 is one implementation that impressed us this year.Cherlynn Low for EngadgetDevices like tablets and smartwatches have matured to the point where each generation mostly sees iterative upgrades, making covering them seem boring. But this year, as the hardware review season came to a close, I noticed an interesting trend. One feature, across various product categories, genuinely excited myself and other reviewers at Engadget and around the internet: impressively fast charging. By itself, high-speed charging isnt new. But when I reviewed the Pixel Watch 4 in October, I was shocked that one seemingly little update changed how I went about my day. The new power system on Googles smartwatch was so efficient that after about ten minutes on a cradle, the wearable went from below 20 percent to past 50 percent. With that boost, I stopped having to remind myself to plug the watch in any time I ran low or was about to run out the door, I just plopped it on the charger and would have enough juice for hours.Google wasnt the only company to make fast-charging a meaningful addition to one of its 2025 products. Apples iPad Pro M5 is the first iPad to support the feature, and while in our testing it fell a little short of the 50 percent charge in 30 minutes that the company promised, our reviewer Nate Ingraham still found it a meaningful improvement.Observers of the smartphone industry will likely point out two things. First, battery technology can be volatile, and larger, faster-charging cells might lead to exploding phones. So my optimism about this development is not without caution. Secondly, weve already seen all this come to handsets, especially in phones that launched outside the US first. OnePlus is known for its SUPERVOOC fast charging system, for example, and were seeing even more novel battery tech show up abroad. Calling fast charging a winner of 2025 may feel untimely to some.But when you consider the spread of speedier charging to other types of products, especially in electric vehicles that till now take forever to top up, the benefits are clear. This year, we saw Formula E (finally) debut its fast-charging pit stops, Honda announce its first full-size electric motorcycle with fast charging and Chinese EV maker BYD unveiling new tech that delivers peak EV charging speeds of 1,000 kilowatts. That should about halve the time it urrently takes to top up your electric car. Sure, its not the most eye-catching or novel technological development. But when counted in terms of precious time saved, fast charging coming to more types of devices certainly amounts to a greater good in gadgets in 2025. Cherlynn Low, Managing editorMagnetsThe Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Pixel Ring StandSam Rutherford for EngadgetTwo years after the announcement of the Qi 2 wireless charging standard and its support of magnetic attachment accessories (a la Apples MagSafe), were finally seeing one of the more mainstream Android devices adopt it. In 2025, Google became the first Android phone maker thats not HMD to do so, bringing such magnetic capabilities to the Pixel 10 series. It also introduced Pixelsnap its own version of a MagSafe accessory ecosystem, including a slim puck with a fold-out kickstand that you can snap onto a phone. I love the Pixel Ring Stand and make sure to bring it with me whenever I can. It works perfectly with my iPhone 17 Pro, and has a compact footprint that makes it easy to take anywhere. Of course, its not the first of its kind Case-Mate and PopSocket, among others, already make similar products but theyre either pricier or rated poorly. But its not just Google that made a magnetic accessory I unexpectedly adored. When reports of Apples Crossbody Strap first trickled out, I was underwhelmed. Who cares about a crossbody strap for an iPhone? But when I was presented with one to try at the iPhone 17 launch event, my cynicism quickly melted into desire. Setting aside the convenience of having your phone on your person when you dont have pockets or a purse, the way magnets play a part here also won me over. To adjust the length of the straps, you just separate the two overlapping pieces that stick together magnetically, move them along each other till youre satisfied with the length and let them snap back in place. Im sure Apple isnt the first to make a crossbody strap accessory for iPhones, nor is it the first to use magnets to adjust such straps. But like many Redditors, Ive slowly come to realize the differences between those products and the Crossbody Strap for iPhone 17. Its far from perfect, but in 2025 it was another implementation of magnets in tech that caught my attention and brought convenience to my life. C.L.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-winners-of-2025-180000177.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Uber will begin selling customer data to marketers, according to a report by Business Insider. The company's ad division just launched a new insights platform called Uber Intelligence that's tasked with hoovering up and selling trip and delivery data. The data will technically be anonymous, via the use of a platform called LiveRamp. This will "let advertisers securely combine their customer data with Uber's to help surface insights about their audiences, based on what they eat and where they travel." Basically, it'll provide a broad view of local consumer trends based on collected data. Uber gives an example of a hotel brand using the technology to identify which restaurants or venues to partner with according to rideshare information. The company also says it's planning on using this tech to directly advertise to consumers, saying it could be used to identify customers who are "heavy business travelers" and then plague them with ads in the app or in vehicles during their next trip to the airport. Fun times. "That seamlessness is why we're so excited," Edwin Wong, global head of measurement at Uber Advertising, told Business Insider. Uber has stated that its ad business is already on track to generate $1.5 billion in revenue this year, and that's before implementing these changes. As for Uber in totality, the company made $44 billion in 2024, which was a jump from $37 billion in 2023. It's also notorious for raising fares. Uber has raised prices for consumers by around 18 percent each year since 2018, which has outpaced inflation by up to four times in some markets.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uber-will-start-selling-trip-and-takeout-data-to-marketers-171011769.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Netflix has already committed to reviving Star Search for its streaming service, and now the company is turning its attention to a different type of live show: HQ Trivia. Netflix's Best Guess Live is an attempt to revive the late 2010s app-based show with what the company is calling its first "weekday mobile game show."Best Guess Live will be hosted by Howie Mandel (Deal or No Deal, America's Got Talent) and Hunter March (Sugar Rush) and will broadcast Monday through Friday at 8PM ET / 5PM PT. The game seems like it will lean on multiple choice questions much like HQ Trivia did, and will reward players who answer the fastest and play multiple times per week. Netflix's announcement doesn't have any specifics as to how much money will be up for grabs, but the company does promise to give away "thousands of dollars in prize money."HQ Trivia, started by Vine co-founders Rus Yusupov and Colin Kroll, was a surprise hit when it debuted in 2017, thanks in part to its host Scott Rogowsky and the appointment-viewing nature of a daily game show you could watch on your phone. The later slow collapse of HQ was rocky enough to warrant a CNN documentary, but clearly the concept of the app fits nicely with Netflix's growing interest in live shows and casual games.Netflix has experimented with a growing number of live shows, including talk shows and sports programming. The company has also recently abandoned its aspirations to develop AAA games and ambitious indie titles to focus on casual experiences and games based on Netflix IP. Best Guess Live seems like a nice fusion of casual interactive experience and lightweight live content. Many people already open the Netflix app daily to find something to watch. It makes sense they'd be willing to do it for money, too.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/best-guess-live-is-netflixs-take-on-hq-trivia-170000030.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
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